Leading Without a Playbook: Why Executive Coaching Matters in Early-Stage Startups

Lupe Prado is an executive coach who works with leaders across startups, private equity, and corporate organizations. For over seven years, she has helped high-performing professionals navigate leadership growth, career transitions, and complex workplace dynamics. Lupe built her career in accounting, and financial reporting. After experiencing burnout early in her career, she sought out coaching herself. Ultimately led her to pursue a master’s degree in leadership, and organizational development with concentration in executive coaching and to launch her own coaching practice.

Lupe explores with Helen what executive coaching is behind the scenes, particularly for leaders operating in a fast paced startup environment. She shares the common themes in startup leaders seeking support, including self-doubt, and the loneliness that often accompanies senior roles. They cover the practical approaches leaders use to seek meaningful feedback, and build support systems as responsibility grows.

Lupe explains how leaders can sustain performance by strengthening foundational habits by developing tools to manage pressure and internal criticism.

For clinicians moving into startup leadership roles, these insights offer a clearer understanding of how coaching can provide perspective, strengthen decision-making, and support leadership development in environments where the structure is still evolving.

About Lupe

Lupe Prado is an executive coach who has worked with leaders across startups, private equity, consulting, and corporate for more than 7 years. Her work focuses on supporting high-performing professionals as they navigate leadership growth, career transitions, and complex environments.

Before becoming a coach, she began her career in accounting and financial reporting. After experiencing burnout early in her career, she sought out coaching herself. It was an experience that led her to pursue a master’s degree in leadership and organizational development with executive coaching.

Lupe now works with leaders across industries, helping build perspective, and navigate the pressures that often accompany senior leadership roles. Her coaching frequently supports startup leaders in a fast-paced environments, where expectations evolve quickly and structures are developing.

Follow Lupe Prado

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Follow The Early Hires

• LinkedIn
• Website

Follow Helen Tanner

• LinkedIn

Join The Early Hires Community

Are you a clinician navigating startup life? The only way to access our private Slack community is by visiting www.theearlyhires.com.

Head to the website to request access and join clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies.

Share your challenges. Share your wins. Ask your questions.

Start at www.theearlyhires.com.
The conversation continues there.

Follow The Early Hires

• LinkedIn
• Website

Follow Helen Tanner

• LinkedIn

Join The Early Hires Community

Are you a clinician navigating startup life? The only way to access our private Slack community is by visiting www.theearlyhires.com.

Head to the website to request access and join clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies.

Share your challenges. Share your wins. Ask your questions.

Start at www.theearlyhires.com.
The conversation continues there.

Clinical Leadership in Healthcare Startups: What Clinicians Learn Navigating Growth, Risk, and Operational Strategy

Helen is joined by Tim Talbert, nurse practitioner, veteran, and healthcare executive who spent more than a decade leading clinical teams inside healthcare startups. Tim began his career in clinic-based primary care before stepping into an early-stage company delivering high-acuity care directly in patients’ homes. He led teams of advanced practice providers while partnering closely with operations to align clinical outcomes with business priorities.

Tim grew alongside the organization as it raised more than $700 million and expanded nationally. He took on increasing leadership responsibility while navigating hypergrowth, operational restructuring, and leadership transitions common in venture-backed healthcare companies.

Helen and Tim explore what clinicians learn when they step inside startup environments and explain how clinical training encourages algorithmic thinking while startup leadership requires systems thinking and comfort with uncertainty.

The episode offers a practical look at how clinicians translate frontline experience into leadership and healthcare innovation.

About Tim Talbert

Tim Talbert is a nurse practitioner, veteran, and healthcare executive with more than a decade of experience leading clinical teams inside healthcare startups. He began his career in clinic-based primary care before stepping into an early-stage company delivering high-acuity care directly in patients’ homes.

Tim entered the organization in a market-level leadership role, balancing clinical care with operational oversight while leading teams of advanced practice providers. Over the course of the company’s rapid expansion, he grew alongside the organization as it raised more than $700 million and expanded nationally.

Today, he serves as President of Clinical Operations at HealthBridge, where he splits time between patient care and operational leadership. His work focuses on improving the transition from hospital to home through virtual care, care coordination, and collaboration with home health teams to reduce readmissions and close gaps in care delivery.

Follow Tim Talbert

• LinkedIn

Follow The Early Hires

• LinkedIn
• Website

Follow Helen Tanner

• LinkedIn

Join The Early Hires Community

Are you a clinician navigating startup life? The only way to access our private Slack community is by visiting www.theearlyhires.com.

Head to the website to request access and join clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies.

Share your challenges. Share your wins. Ask your questions.

Start at www.theearlyhires.com.
The conversation continues there.

In this episode, Helen sits down with Dipu Patel, DMSc, MPAS, ABAIM, PA-C, educator, innovation leader, and immediate past president of the PA Education Association. Dipu serves as professor and vice chair for innovation at the University of Pittsburgh PA program, where her work focuses on digital health, artificial intelligence, quality improvement, and preparing clinicians for the future of care.

Before stepping into academic leadership, Dipu spent 20 years in clinical practice and later served as director of clinical pathways at a healthcare technology startup. She breaks down what it takes for clinicians to move from delivering care inside systems to influencing the systems and technologies that define care delivery. Dipu explains why systems thinking matters more than clinical thinking when translating workflows for engineers, why trust is part of implementation, and why ROI in healthcare cannot only be financial.

The conversation explores why PA programs must embed leadership training into curricula, why clinicians need AI literacy now, and why raising your hand for roles outside your comfort zone pays dividends years later.

For clinicians navigating innovation, education, or startup work, this episode delivers clarity on building the future of healthcare.

Mentioned in the Episode:

• Digital Health, Telemedicine and Beyond
• PA Education Association (PAEA)
• University of Pittsburgh PA Program

About Dr. Dipu

Dipu Patel, DMSc, MPAS, ABAIM, PA-C is a clinician, professor, author, and national speaker working at the intersection of digital health, artificial intelligence, and medical education. She focuses on helping academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and professional associations move from reactive technology adoption to intentional system design that supports clinical reasoning, professionalism, and patient-centered care.

With a career spanning clinical practice, academic leadership, innovation strategy, and board governance, Dipu collaborates with institutions to translate emerging technologies into practical, ethical, and sustainable educational and clinical practices. Her work centers on AI in health professions education, digital health strategy, simulation, and systems thinking—ensuring healthcare innovation remains grounded in human-centered care.

Follow Dr. Dipu

• LinkedIn
• Website

Follow The Early Hires

• LinkedIn
• Website

Follow Helen Tanner

• LinkedIn

Join The Early Hires Community

Are you a clinician navigating startup life? The only way to access our private Slack community is by visiting www.theearlyhires.com.

Head to the website to request access and join clinicians who are building, leading, and navigating the realities of early-stage healthcare companies.

Share your challenges. Share your wins. Ask your questions.

Start at www.theearlyhires.com.
The conversation continues there.